Promises
by gypsymel218
Summary: Hermione never breaks her promises. Neither does Draco. Especially promises made to each other.


**Hi everyone!**

**This is my first Dramione fic so I hope you all like it! **

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><p><strong>Promises<strong>

The first time Draco promised Hermione something, she laughed.

They were sitting on a bench at a park in London and the wind whipped the clouds through the cornflower blue sky. Their hands were clasped, and his face was buried in her hair. She could feel his smile.

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face. Draco snuggled into her neck with a sigh. Hermione looked up.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes smiled at her and the molten silver never failed to captivate her. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt herself smile back.

"Nothing. I just…I never want to lose you."

Hermione shifted in her seat so that their bodies faced each other. "Hey, we've talked about this, Draco."

"I know. But the thought of losing you scares me. I almost lost you in the final battle. I never want to feel like that again."

"No one's leaving anyone behind. I'm not leaving you, you're not leaving me. Right?"

Hermione thought it was a bit presumptuous to say 'you're never leaving me'. Draco looked at her like he was reading her mind.

"I promise that I will never leave you. Ever."

Hermione just laughed and kissed him.

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><p>The first time Hermione promised Draco something, he hugged her and never wanted to let her go.<p>

The clock had struck one when Draco woke up screaming.

Hermione dashed into the living room from her bedroom and all Draco could see was blood and black and snakes writhing on the floor. And bodies. Dead bodies.

Her body.

Flashes of spells and mutilated faces that he couldn't even recognise anymore swam in his vision and it was all he could do not to let the stinging tears fall.

And then he heard a soft voice, so sweet and gently and _loving_ that it dragged him out of his fear and into her arms, warm and _alive_. And Draco remembered that he was no longer living in the war that had ravaged the wizarding world for years.

But he couldn't stop the hot, salty droplets of water trickling down his cheeks.

"Draco?"

Her words held a silent question that he couldn't answer. A pause.

"Please don't leave me."

"I won't."

"Promise me."

He could feel her surprise. In the way her breath hitched as it fanned across his cheek and the slight tilt of her head.

"I promise."

He didn't speak for a long time; just allowed himself to be held in the cover of darkness, where their fears came to life and were hidden. Where the shadows could hold you in their embrace or choke you. He exhaled. When he spoke, his voice was scratchy and raw and soft. Vulnerable.

"Can you sing to me?"

So she sang to him and held him until he felt the hands of exhaustion close his eyes and take him to a safe place where the sun shone and memories didn't haunt him.

_My love, leave yourself behind,_

_Beat inside me, leave you blind._

_My love, you have found peace._

_You were searching for relief._

_You gave it all,_

_Gave into the call._

_You took a chance and_

_You took a fall for us._

_You came thoughtfully,_

_Loved me faithfully_

_You taught me honour,_

_You did it for me._

_Today you will sleep away_

_You will wait for me, my love._

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><p>The second time Draco promised Hermione something, she cried.<p>

When she got the owl from the ministry, she was terrified. Because she'd already received a letter like that once before. And Draco was on an Auror job.

When she opened the letter with shaking hands and read the contents, her heart froze. Because the letter was exactly the same as the one she'd received a year ago but instead of the name _Draco Malfoy_, it had read _Ronald Weasley_.

_Dear Miss Granger...regret to inform...Draco Malfoy...declared missing in action…_

Fear seized her.

Ron hadn't come back.

And she didn't know what she'd do if Draco didn't come back.

Hermione waited a month. A month of worry and intense fear that plagued her, even at night. Especially at night.

And when he opened the door, looking haggard and apprehensive, she exploded.

"DRACO MALFOY! Where have you _been_? The ministry declared you _missing in action_. _Missing_! You said the job was a week at most. You've been gone for an entire month!"

Draco must have been expecting it because he responded rather quickly, albeit nervously. "I'm so sorry, love. There was a lead and we couldn't just ignore it so we followed it through. We couldn't tell anyone about it in case it jeopardized the mission."

"Jeopardized!?" Hermione was near hysterical. "Well, maybe you didn't think about your anxious girlfriend sitting at home going _crazy_ worrying about you because in case you forgot, _love_, I got a letter a year ago that was almost identical to the one I received last month and my _best friend never came home_!"

Draco was looking stricken now but Hermione was too distraught to feel guilty. She didn't even realise she was crying until she felt a droplet on her shirt. She turned and ran into the bathroom, bolting the door behind her, ignoring his protests and pleads. She heard his voice through the bathroom door but she refused to open it.

"Hermione, please. I'm so sorry. I promise, Hermione, I swear, it won't ever happen again."

She just cried.

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><p>The second time Hermione promised Draco something, she was joking.<p>

But not really.

They were at a theme park and it was the third day. It was unusually hot for April; the clouds had chosen not to show up today and the sun was glaring fiercely at them. Draco kept complaining about getting burnt.

They two were eating ice creams; Hermione's was vanilla and Draco's was chocolate. They kept joking about being as different as night and day. Hermione was in quite a silly, childish mood when she came up with a bright idea.

She bought them some chocolate and discreetly took the wrappers from Draco. Throughout the day, every time he went to the bathroom, to buy food or went on a ride she didn't want to go on, she continued on her little project.

Draco had decided to take them to a fancy restaurant and though Hermione wasn't a big fan of fancy restaurants, she appreciated the gesture. She was feeling increasingly nervous about her little project. She had fiddled with it in her pocket all day and she was sure Draco had noticed something but he said nothing.

As they waited for their food and joked around, hands held, she took a deep breath. There was no better time to give it to him, when the atmosphere was light and cheerful and childish. _Come on, you're a Gryffindor. Just give it to him!_

"Hey, Draco?"

"Hm?"

"I made you something."

She slowly withdrew the gift from her pocket and placed it in his open hand. Draco blinked at the shimmery object.

It was a small ring, put together by colourful chocolate foil wrappers. It was tacky and childish and Draco loved it.

He grinned at her. "What's this for?"

She blushed delightfully and Draco fought the urge to kiss her. "It's a promise ring. I don't know if you have them in the wizarding world but in the muggle world, it's often used to show affection and commitment to another person, though not necessarily representing love. I just thought that I would make you one and you don't have to keep it but–"

He kissed her. It was short, sweet and chaste and Draco broke away, a grin still on his face.

"What are you promising?"

Her cheeks reddened even more and her sparkling eyes reminded Draco of constellations. When she spoke, her voice was teasing.

"To buy you chocolate ice cream when you feel like it, to go to Quidditch games with you even if I hate them, to go on rollercoasters with you, to bake gingerbread cookies every Christmas and decorate our place with you…" Her smile softened. "To sing to you when you need me to, to hold you and…to love you forever."

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><p>The third time Draco promised Hermione something, she kissed him.<p>

They were having dinner in Paris, to celebrate their third anniversary. Harry and Ginny were rather surprised when she told them that she and Draco had been dating for three years. She doubted Harry had gotten used to Draco's presence. Ginny _loved_ Draco.

She had just finished her vanilla ice cream when soft music started to play. Her eyes shot to his silver ones as she recognised the tune and she was surprised to see him smiling, hand held out.

"May I have this dance, my lady?"

She smiled back. "Of course."

As he led her to the dance floor, she felt herself get lost in the music and travelled back to a time where the night brought new terrors and forgotten fears.

"Hermione. Look at me."

She hadn't even noticed that her steps were slowing but as soon as she looked up, she got lost in a sea of molten silver. They swirled and sparkled and made Hermione think of galaxies.

_Now I am strong.  
>You gave me all.<br>You gave all you had, and now I am whole._

_My love beat inside me  
>My love<br>My love, leave yourself behind,  
>Beat inside me, I'll be with you.<em>

Hermione sighed and the two smiled as their song came to an end. Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from Draco's.

"I promise to love you forever, Hermione Granger."

She smiled at his promise because she knew he would keep it. He always kept his promises.

When he got down on one knee and took her hands, Hermione felt like her heart had stopped.

"I promise to love your frizzy hair, your button nose, your beautiful eyes, even your mangy cat…" Draco chuckled nervously, his hands warm as they held hers.

"I promise to buy you vanilla ice cream when you feel like it, to go to the bookstores with you and spend hours there with you, to travel the world with you, to bake gingerbread cookies with you every Christmas, eat the cookie dough and decorate our place with you…"

Hermione's eyes widened.

"I promise that I will never leave you and that I will love you and care for you every day for the rest of your life and…to love you forever."

Hermione couldn't stop a stray tear from escaping.

"Hermione…marry me?"

She nodded so vigorously that he laughed and when she heard him, she imagined that stars would sound like that if they were to laugh.

And when he kissed her and swung her around and placed a ring on her finger, she saw the promise ring she'd given him and smiled a smile so beautiful that Draco imagined that stars would look like that if they were to smile.

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><p><strong>Please feel free to leave a review and some feedback! Thank you :)<strong>


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